Sir Ken Robinson has dedicated most of his career to releasing creativity.
It was, he said, at the pulse of innovation, yet most people spent their entire lives unaware of their full capabilities, and settled for less.
He stressed that humanification was desperately important; that we had lost sight of what makes us at once collectively human and uniquely different.
Talent and creative resources, he said, were like natural resources in their abundance, and far more diverse than traditional education would lead you to believe. These extraordinary gifts were often buried and, like natural resources, needed refining and cultivation.
So how did that apply to business? The human lifespan had lengthened, while that of companies was getting shorter. Many failed, and those that endured were the ones that reinvented themselves. Even great companies didn’t simply fade away, he said, they collapsed, like empires, after reaching a critical point.
Technology could destroy entire industries, and rapid advancement – especially in artificial intelligence – meant we couldn’t today predict the changes ahead.
So what does business need to do to survive? Stay on the pulse of innovation.
As humans we have an infinite capacity for imagination – the ability to visualise concepts not present, revisit the past, and predict the future.
Imagination, he said, was often taken for granted, but only through it could we achieve creativity, which led to innovation.
Companies need to create an environment that fosters creativity. There is a misconception that only some people are creative, and there is a tendency to separate them in the workplace. In truth, most talents are not gifts, but the product of passion and dedication.
Values too, are changing. The drive for profit and shareholder value at any cost will give way to conscious capitalism, existentialism and a circular economy. In the future, success in business would depend on harnessing the creative abilities of entire teams. It is only within a culture that truly values each individual’s ideas, that creates a safe place to share ideas, that innovation is possible.
Stewart Freidman is a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and bestselling author on the subject of work/life integration, leadership and the dynamics of change.
He says that rather than the binary work/life balance, good, organised strategy can mean four-way wins: in work/career, home/family, self (mind-body-spirit) and community/society. The digital age means we can be more committed to ideas and meaningful work; that we have the ability to connect but also to disconnect.
He says in this digital age we’re just beginning to understand how to harness the tools to help make the world a better place, rather than isolating ourselves. He also advocates the importance of sharing your challenges with others, because it has so many benefits – making us aware that we all face similar challenges, gaining fresh insights and helping with creative thought, along with the rewards that come with helping others – like learning more about yourself.
In order to be real and act with authenticity though, we must first clarify what’s really important to us. Establishing where we’re going in life provides inspiration, direction, stability and purpose.
Being real though, can be tough. It takes courage to stand up and say what’s important to you.
During his talk at Wobi, Stewart presented a number of exercises to help develop the skills to be real, whole and innovative, and for integrating work and the rest of your life. These are expanded in his latest book, Leading the Life You Want, where he illustrates them using six successful and prominent people, including Michelle Obama and Bruce Springsteen. Exercises tend to be simple, practical ways to focus on vales and skills, including tracking and reflecting, planning and organising, appreciating and caring and creating value in the world.
According to Stewart: “Successful people make it their business to be conscious of what and who matter most. "Their actions flow from their values. They strive to do what they can to make things better for the people who depend on them and on whom they depend, in all the different parts of their lives.”
Leading the life you want
At the
pulse of innovation